Catholic Life
We show our love for God in the way we treat each other.
Together we follow Jesus, by learning and sharing our gifts.
A Catholic school is a community of love and hope. It provides young people with a Catholic education, which perceives life as a faith journey. The ultimate aim of a Catholic school is to develop the full potential of all young people, leading to their life-long activities being guided by the Spirit and presence of Christ, in the service of God and of others.
As a Catholic school, our belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and in his teachings as the right way to live, are fundamental to the entire ethos of our teaching, care for and attitude towards the children. It is integral in all aspects of school life and is outlined in our mission statement, it means that in Religious Education we are not just teaching a curriculum subject but also a living faith which we are encouraging children to share in.
The Catholic school is supported in its mission by the active partnership of the home, the school and the parish. Together, they provide support for the faith community, helping to form and develop in all a mature Christian conscience.
Our latest Catholic Schools Inspection (CSI) took place in September 2024 and rated the school 'Outstanding' in all areas.
The full report can be read here.
Catholic social teaching (CST) is rooted in Scripture, formed by the wisdom of Church leaders, and influenced by grassroots movements. It is our moral compass, guiding us on how to live out our faith in the world.
Prayer Spaces
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There are many areas within our school which are assigned as spaces for prayer and reflection. These include a dedicated shrine to Our Lady within our hall; a prayer room which is open to pupils all day where they can write petitions in our school prayer book or add prayer leaves to our tree, and an outside space within our Learning Resource Centre. The prayer room has been made available to parents at certain times when it is not being used by children.
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Our large outdoor prayer garden, located at the front of our school, is utilised throughout the year. This becomes a focal point at various times such as in May, where all of our children take part in a Marian procession, and in November for Remembrance Day.
Each classroom has a dedicated prayer focus area. This are special places which reflect the current RE topic being taught, as well as the colours of the relevant Liturgical season. Our prayer focus areas contain many artefacts which are special and allow for our RE books to be displayed in a place suitable for their importance.
Prayer and Liturgy
As a school we gather twice in the week for whole-school Prayer and Liturgy. Tuesday’s Head Teacher assembly is Gospel-driven and our gathering on each Thursday changes between class assemblies and celebration ones.
Our class prayer and liturgy takes place on days where we do not gather as a whole school. We make use of a variety of resources including Ten Ten’s 'Prayer and Liturgy: Loving Jesus' resources. Many of these sessions are planned and delivered by our pupils, giving them ownership. They take place in and out of the classroom - broadening the ideas about where prayer can take place. These take the children through the four aspects (Gather, Listen, Respond and Go Forth) allowing them to reflect on a weekly theme.
These complement the larger focussed gatherings such as school masses, services and Stay and Pray sessions.
The Transfiguration by Laura James
Lectio and Visio Divina
Pupils are given time to reflect (often at the start of RE lessons) following the focussed steps of either Lectio or Visio Divina. For Lectio Divina this involves looking at a piece of Scripture or an extract from a larger piece of writing. This is first read, then meditated upon before being responded to through prayer and then contemplated (where children listen for God’s response to their prayers). A similar process happens for Visio Divina, although in this instance, the stimulus stems from religious paintings and iconography.
RE Newsletters
To enable parents to support the work we do in school, we publish a termly R.E. Curriculum Newsletter which outlines the topics being covered by each year group and suggests activities parents can undertake with their children at home.
Autumn Term Curriculum Letter 2024-25
Autumn Term RED Parent Letter 2024-25
Spring Term Curriculum Letter 2023-24
Summer Term Curriculum Letter 2023-24
Jesuit Pupil Profile
A key question all schools have to ask themselves is ‘What kind of young people do we hope to produce?’
At SS. Peter and Paul's we have adopted the Jesuit virtues and want to promote and embed these into our children so that they develop into young adults who make the school and their family proud.
This is not a random set of virtues, nor is it a description of a generic ‘nice person’, but is a vision of a good and virtuous person rooted in the teachings of St Ignatius Loyola and, more deeply than that, in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We truly believe that these virtues go hand in hand with the way we educate and help to bring up the children in our care. Our aim is to introduce a pair of virtues during each half term and make links to the current good practice the children are already participating in, whilst continuing to deepen their understanding of becoming people to be proud of.
For extensive details about each of the values, how we meet these at SSPP, and when we focus on them in the year, please visit our dedicated page here.
Liturgy Team
Each year, pupils apply to be part of our Liturgy Team. These Liturgical Ambassadors then take an active part in the Catholic life of the school. They help organise masses and services, produce prayers for the Head Teacher's assemblies and try to drive improvement throughout the school. They create a group Prayer and Liturgy resource which is then delivered each week in class (replacing our Ten Ten resource on that day). They meet regularly with the RE Lead and Head Teacher, who guides them and helps facilitate projects for the year.
